Environmental state of Lake Sevan and illegal logging in forest areas were discussed at a meeting of the Nature Protection Ministry`s Public Council

ArmInfo. The issues of the ecological status of Lake Sevan and the prevention of illegal logging in forest arrays of Armenia were discussed yesterday at a meeting of the Public
Council under the Minister of the Nature Protection.

The participants in the discussion presented activities undertaken to
stabilize the ecological state of Lake Sevan, the waters of whichare
subjected to a high level of eutrophication - the process of
deterioration of water quality due to the excessive flow of so-called
"biogenic elements" into the water, primarily nitrogen and phosphorus
compounds. Numerous anthropogenic factors influencing the ecological
balance of the lake were considered, measures to reduce their impact
were identified.

The meeting participants presented their positions and proposals on
solving the problem, noting the importance of analyzing the results
of the implementation of the monitoring system, establishing the
water quality standard in Lake Sevan, restoring the flora and fauna
population.

Thus, earlier in an interview with ArmInfo, the well-known ecologist
and water resource expert Knarik Hovhannisyan noted that the reasons
for Sevan's eutrophication lie in the elevated temperature of the
lake's water, resulting in a decrease in the deep "cold" layer, which
leads to a change in the habitual biodiversity. This process is also
promoted by sewage from the entire drainage basin, which contains, in
addition to municipal wastewater, household waste, fertilizers,
pesticides, etc., that are washed away from irrigated lands, also
contributes to this process. In this sense, according to the expert,
the operation of only three treatment facilities, which perform only
mechanical water treatment, is rather insufficient. A very important
and dangerous factor in the eutrophication of the lake is the small
hydroelectric power stations built on the rivers flowing into the
lake, which often take water from the rivers above the allowed limit,
thus not providing the necessary amount of environmental protection.
Often, these structures lack the so-called "fish walkers" necessary
for spawning fish. As a result of all this, according to the
ecologist, in recent years there has been a disappearance of the
crawfish population in the lake and some species of fish, which are
natural nurses of Sevan.

Not a small "contribution" to the lake pollution is brought by
several hundred tourist facilities around the perimeter of the lake,
which practically do not have sewage treatment plants and wash their
drains directly into the lake. There are also several dozen fish
farms that artificially grow trout, which use feed of unknown
composition - antibiotics, preservatives, dyes, etc.

Nature Protection Minister Erik Grigoryan said that the main part of
the proposed offers are in the process, and stressed the importance
of cooperation with scientific structures and expert communities. As
part of the discussion on illegal logging, the latest legislative
changes, initiated by the Ministry, were introduced, which closed all
legal gaps that contributed to lawlessness. Legal regulations also
tightened penalties that criminalize individual cases.

At the suggestion of the participants of the meeting, measures aimed
at strengthening the capabilities of specially protected natural
territories and taking fire-fighting measures in forest areas were
also touched upon.